PHOTOS: Props used in New Mexico film productions on display at State Fair

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The 2023 New Mexico State Fair has a new exhibit on display that highlights movies and shows filmed in New Mexico.

The exhibit is called the Red Carpet Theater and coincides with the fair’s theme of “Fair Famous,” in honor of the long history of television and film in New Mexico.

Located inside the Manuel Lujan Jr. Exhibit Complex, the Red Carpet Theater has props on display such as an ambulance from “Oppenheimer,” a payphone from “Better Call Saul,” and skeletons that were used in the “Army of the Dead.”

“I really want everybody to see them. I personally take a lot of pride in our props being shown like to everyone,” said Mariposa Meneses, a student employee at CNM Ingenuity Inc., a non-profit entity of Central New Mexico Community College that manages a film prop warehouse.

There are also displays dedicated to “Breaking Bad,” “The Cowboys,” “The Man Who Fell to Earth,” and other projects filmed in New Mexico.

“There is a lot of potential here for the film industry for just, how do I put this, mainly our economy, like our state economy. It’ll bring in a lot of different revenue from mainly these projects because they are some pretty big projects,” Meneses said.

Visitors will also be able to learn about casting from Alessi Hartigan Casting. The agency helped find background actors for Christopher Nolan’s movie “Oppenheimer”, based on the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer and how he researched and designed the atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

“What we do is, we hire all the background actors and stuff for the shows that come into town,” said Jasmine Rivera, executive assistant for Alessi Hartigan Casting. “We’ve been working really hard with everybody and making sure that everyone is having fun.” Alessi Hartigan Casting also helps with costumes for productions through its Monumental Studios in Albuquerque.

A free photo booth is set up in the Red Carpet Theater next to a popcorn stand.

The New Mexico State Fair is open at Expo New Mexico in Albuquerque and will end on Sept. 17. Tickets are available at this link.